Various types of vehicle drive systems are known in the patent literature and are presently in use. Among these are systems which employ various types of gearing to effectively extend the operating range of a continuously variable transmission. Such systems may include both a source of rotational energy such as a heat engine, and kinetic energy storage such as a flywheel. The flywheel and source of rotational energy may be connected to the continuously variable transmission and to the drive output of the vehicle in a number of selectable modes which correspond to different effective gear ratios encountered in the operation of a vehicle. Such a system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,200.